Blessed (30 page)

Her heart constricted at the tenderness of the kiss, the affection she saw in his eyes. Gods how she loved him, but she wasn’t ready to tell him that quite yet. This was all moving so fast and she was afraid that maybe he didn’t feel the same as she did. He continued to look at her, a small smile on his lips and joy in his eyes, before he placed a soft kiss on her nose and put the SUV into drive. The rest of the journey back to his house went by quickly and by the time they made it through the front door she was pretty sure her heart would burst from happiness. The way he looked at her, the way he touched her, told her more than words ever could how much he adored her and the sentiment was totally mutual.

They ran to his bedroom in the house and exchanged their dress clothes for some thick and comfortable robes. He helped her take the pins out of her hair and brushed it gently as she lay on his chest, watching the fire burn in the elaborate green marble fireplace at the end of the room.

After a long, slow session of lovemaking, they both fell asleep, utterly spent.

****

Linda slowly pulled her hands out of the cavity of the corpse, a shiver going through her as she processed the information she’d just received. Absently, she wiped the blood off her hands and onto her coveralls. The flickering fluorescent lights did little to brighten the black-painted room. A large shiny drain sat in the floor, and a tall stainless steel cabinet dominated one wall. Currently one door of the cabinet was ajar, revealing what appeared to be dental tools.

“Dillon,” Linda said quietly, a happy smile beginning to break over her face. She was blonde again, and they were playing in Dillon's torture chamber in New Jersey.

Linda finally focused on the present and said louder, “Dillon!”

Dillon whipped his head up with a snarl. Gone was the suave Wall Street lawyer. In his place crouched a naked man covered in blood and bits of gore. In his hand, Dillon held a cigar cutter. The duct-taped man on the floor was missing four fingers so far.

“Dillon, I know how to save us. I got the information Eris needs,” Linda said, clapping her hands and laughing with joy.

Standing, Dillon strode over to Linda and gave her a tender look before placing a bloody kiss on her lips. “I knew you could do it, pookie. What did you find out?”

Linda's blood-painted lips turned in a secretive smile. “You'll have to wait and see, but it's going to destroy that little bitch and Rana's son too.”

Eliana eased the door to her dorm room open and wondered why she felt guilty as she snuck in. It was a little after 7 a.m. and Aiden had dropped her off on the other side of the building. She’d done the walk of shame into the dorm, wearing the same party clothes she had left in the night before. The door guard gave her a knowing smile as she checked her ID and asked if she’d had a fun night.

As she tried to quietly close the door behind her, she heard Chrissy say from the bedroom, “And where have you been all night, young lady?”

With a sigh, Eliana removed her heels and padded into the bedroom in her bare feet. Chrissy lay on her side in her bunk with a smug look. Eliana was about to defend her honor when Jack's blond head and bare, freckled shoulder popped up on the other side of Chrissy.

Jack said, “Hi, bunny,” with a winning smile as Chrissy tugged the sheet.

Eliana stared at them both with an open mouth. Last she’d seen of Jack he’d been romance some pretty blonde at the party, and now he was in her best-friends bed. What the fuck was he doing in her best-friend’s bed? Jack's smile sagged, and Chrissy tugged the covers to her chin.

“Say something, bunny, or at least breathe,” Jack said nervously.

With a growl, she picked up her high-heeled shoe and threw it at Jack, narrowly missing Chrissy and putting a hole in the wall where his head had been.

“Get off my friend, you pervert!” Eliana yelled.

“Hey now, I'm a lover not a fighter,” Jack yelled back as he hid behind Chrissy, laughing. Chrissy began to giggle as well, and Eliana growled at both of them.

Jack whispered into Chrissy's ear, and she said, “Eliana, it's okay. I called Jack and invited him over last night. I got lonely when you didn't come home.”

Eliana felt a momentary flash of guilt. “If you're lonely, buy a dog. It'll be more loyal than Jack.”

Chrissy gasped. “Eliana! That is plain rude.”

Through gritted teeth, Eliana said, “Jack, please meet me in the TV room, dressed, ASAP.”

“Awww, bunny. Chrissy and I were about to start the day off right.”

Reaching behind her, she picked up one of Chrissy's marble mortars off her desk and cranked her arm back to throw it at Jack.

Chrissy yelled, “Hey, that's expensive!”

She put it down with a final glare at Jack before stomping into the next room. It might have been more effective of a stomp if she hadn’t been barefoot.

She perched on the edge of the couch and clasped her hands in her lap so hard the knuckles turned white. A minute later Jack came into the room wearing his tuxedo pants from last night and his white shirt partially buttoned. He shut the door and started to sit on the couch next to her. He decided to stand on the other side of the room when she snarled at him.

Just as she was taking a deep breath to let loose, Jack held up a hand. “Bunny, let me explain please—”

“Explain what? How you came back to my roommate for a booty call after I told you she was hands-off? How you manipulated your way into her bed? How you're going to use her as a one-night stand and leave me to clean up your mess? How you…”

She paused to take another breath, and Jack said in a serious voice, “Eliana, please.”

Hearing Jack use her actual name made her pause and glare at him, allowing him to speak.

Jack ran a hand through his wavy blond hair. “Loki wants me to date her.”

She thought about this and snorted. “Seriously, Jack? That's the best you could come up with? Loki wants you to date her? So your god is pimping you out?”

Looking offended, Jack said, “Hey, I'm being serious. You don't know what it's like to be Chosen. You don't know how much faith you put into your god, how you learn to trust their word and accept that they do know what they are talking about. So when Loki personally asks me to do something, I do it.”

“So you don’t even like her? You’re just following orders?”

“What? No, I like her. I like her a lot. She’s smart, and funny, and so fucking good at….errrr….she’s nice.”

Rubbing her face with her hands, she said, “Let's say, for one second, I believe your bullshit story. What did Loki tell you, and how did you snake your way into Chrissy's bed?”

Jack gave her a devilish grin. “Snake my way into her bed? You don't know your roommate well, do you? She jumped me and rode me till I was cross-eyed.”

“TMI!” she yelled and glared at him.

With a sigh, Jack said, “Loki visited me while I was using the bathroom at the country club. He thought it was funny that he made me pee on my shoe.” Seeing her grossed-out expression, Jack quickly continued, “He said Chrissy was going to be important in my future and that I was to become friends with her and supply her with any knowledge or help she needed. I thought it was odd because she's a witch and not affiliated with any Nordic Gods, so I asked him what was going on. Loki got all spooky and powerful on me and reminded me that we all are Servants of the Creator at the end of the day and that I better go make nice with Chrissy if I liked being able to pee standing up.”

“So, on the threat of potential neutering, you called Chrissy and sweet-talked your way into an invitation?”

“Ahhhh, not quite.” Jack put his hands in his pockets. “I thought she was cute and funny, and her aura was delicious, so I slipped her my card before we left with my cell phone number on the back. She actually called me after I left the country club and asked where you were.”

“What did you tell her?”

“The truth,” Jack said with a dimpled grin. “That you drove my younger sister, who had too much to drink, home and that you were probably staying the night.”

Leaning back into the couch, she uncrossed her arms and glared at Jack until he squirmed. “Do you swear that you didn't use any magic to get Chrissy into bed and that you won't hurt her if you can help it?”

“Jeez, bunny, what kind of asshole do you take me for?” He held up his hands when she opened her mouth. “Don't answer. Look, I'm not saying Chrissy and I are going to hook up and pick out curtains, but I do like her. She's dynamite in the sack with that tight little body…I mean like a ten.”

Closing her eyes, she clenched her hands into fists. “Jack, one more word about having sex with Chrissy and I'll start telling you how good Aiden is in the sack. And what he looks like nude.”

Jack made a barfing sound. “You don't fight fair, bunny. Fine, no more sex-with-Chrissy talk.” He gave her a serious look. “You should be happy I was here last night. Something tried to come in through your window while we slept.”

She hid her face in her hands. “Shit. Why are they coming after Chrissy now?”

“I don't think they were after Chrissy. I think she happened to be here. You're still their main target, but someone is getting awfully impatient. I know we've told you this before, but you must not go anywhere without someone with you.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Chrissy said from the other side, “Are you two done yet? Eliana, if you killed Jack, I'm going to be upset with you.”

“Come on in, Chrissy. You may be pissed at me later that I didn't kill him now, but for the time being, he still lives,” Eliana said as she scooted over on the couch to make room for Chrissy. She tried to keep her expression neutral, hoping that Chrissy mistook her fear for anger.

Instead of sitting next to her, Chrissy crossed the small room toward Jack. A messy bun contained her blond curls, and tiny shorts flattered her long and lean legs. She grabbed Jack’s hand and pushed him back into the beanbag, flopping on top of him and cuddling comfortably in his arms.

Jack looked surprised, then pleased as Chrissy leaned back into him. He placed an arm around her waist and tucked her head underneath his chin. To Eliana's surprise, they did look comfortable together, as if they’d been together longer than one night.

Chrissy looked over at her with intent hazel green eyes. “So, are you going to tell me who you went home with last night?”

Eliana froze and said in a forced, casual tone, “I have no idea what you're talking about, Chrissy. Jack's sister had too much to drink, so I drove her home and spent the night.”

Chrissy snorted. “You I might believe, but Jack has a tell when he's lying, and he was lying about his sister.”

Jack leaned back and glanced at Chrissy. “I have a what?”

Grinning at him with her dimples, Chrissy said, “You have a tell, sweetheart. You do a certain something with your body every time you lie. We learned about it in my psychology class. It's handy to know when your clients are lying to you during therapy. I'm not going to say what it is, but that's one of the reasons I let you into my bed last night. Other than the lie about Eliana, you were completely honest with me.”

Looking at Jack's shocked and slightly horrified expression, both Eliana and Chrissy burst out laughing.

“You’re serious?”

“Oh, completely. See, I don’t just rely on magic to know when a person is being truthful. Thankfully you seem pretty honest, so I’d suggest you keep telling the truth if you want to continue to warm my bed.”

“Oh shit, Jack. You're so screwed!” Eliana howled.

Chrissy stroked Jack's arm in a soothing manner. “Awww, don't get all freaked out. I'm good at reading people, and as long as you're honest with me, we're all good. I know people have to have secrets.” Her expression darkened before she visibly forced her smile to return and continued, “As long as those secrets don't harm anyone, it's okay. And I won't invade your privacy any more than you would invade mine. Besides, I can't read Eliana at all. Either she's a really good or a really crappy liar.”

Jack began to place gentle kisses on Chrissy's hand, pausing to suck one of her fingers into his mouth as he gazed into her eyes. “Have I told you yet how amazing you are?”

Chrissy grinned. “Truth.”

“And how good you taste.”

“Truth again.”

“And how much I love to give you multiple orgasms?”

“Truth, truth, truth.”

Eliana made gagging noises. “Keep it in your pants, both of you. I'm still here.”

Not taking his eyes off Chrissy, Jack said, “Go get some coffee or something, bunny.”

“Yeah, and some doughnuts. From the other side of town for about twenty minutes,” Chrissy added as she shifted in Jack's lap.

“An hour,” Jack said as he twirled his tongue over the tip of Chrissy's finger.

Chrissy's eyes widened, and she said with an evil grin, “How about two hours? You can make the doughnuts yourself and bring them back when you're done.”

Jack's eyebrows rose, and he whispered something in Chrissy's ear that made her blush and laugh.

Rolling her eyes, Eliana left the room and closed the door behind her. She grabbed a quick shower, dried her hair, and took care with her makeup to cover the lack of sleep. Trying not to hear the sounds of pleasure coming from the TV room, she threw on a pair of tan pants and a black shirt that had sheer ruffles at the wrists and around the low collar. After pulling on a pair of black leather boots, she darted into their bedroom to grab her cell phone and laptop to get some homework done.

Two hours later, Eliana sat in the study lounge of her floor, typing a paper for her fine arts class on the modernist movement. She’d caught up in the rest of her classes, and after she finished the paper, she was done. Her mood brightened considerably when she read an email saying her English class was canceled for the day and wondered how soon she could call Aiden without seeming clingy or desperate.

A couple other girls were busy doing their homework, and she listened with half an ear and a grin as she overheard gossip about Jack's visit last night. They glanced over her way, but she had her headphones on as she typed so it would look as though she was listening to music and didn't want to be disturbed. She didn’t have the heart to tell them that right now Jack was probably boinking her roommate’s brains out.